Saturday, April 2, 2016

Freedom in peril

The government’s passage of the Aadhaar Bill in
complete disregard of even basic parliamentary procedures and in
subversion of an ongoing judicial process puts at risk a number of
constitutional rights and liberties of citizens. The benefits cited are
just ploys to realise a neoliberal dream. By R. RAMAKUMAR

“Congressmen are dancing as if [Aadhaar] was a herb for all cures. With
the Supreme Court pulling up the Centre, people are now seeking answers
from the Prime Minister who should disclose how much money had been
spent... and who had benefited from it.” Thus spoke the then Gujarat
Chief Minister Narendra Modi on the Aadhaar project in 2013. However, as
Prime Minister, it is as if Modi has suddenly realised the value of the
“herb”. His National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has passed
the Aadhaar Bill in Parliament.
Three points are worth noting. First, the passage of the Bill was
nothing but a travesty of democracy. Such has been Modi’s commitment to
Aadhaar that even basic parliamentary procedures were disregarded
completely. The passage of the Bill also constituted the subversion of
an ongoing judicial process. Secondly, the Bill has a number of
provisions that put to risk, and offer no protection to, a number of
constitutional rights and liberties of citizens. Thirdly, the financial
savings that the government has claimed from the usage of Aadhaar, based
on which the idea has been sold, are based on wrong data.